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PA car terror ads. Image: NRG.

Former Israeli National Security Council chief, Maj.-Gen. (res) Ya’akov Amidror, argued that the only action that can deter “car-bourne” terrorists is taking punitive measures against their families, Israel’s NRG News reported Thursday.

Four people have died – one an infant – and some 30 civilians and soldiers have been wounded in attacks over the past two weeks by Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad-affiliated terrorists, who mowed down pedestrians along the tracks and platforms of Jerusalem’s light rail system.

Both terrorists were shot and killed by Border Police officers at the scene.

“Even ISIS can’t be stopped in a day,” Amidror said, calling the fight against nationalistic violence in Jerusalem a long and protracted battle.

Two vehicular attacks that took place Wednesday, and two weeks ago, expose the great difficulties facing security forces trying to overcome the wave of unrest and violence in the capital, he contended.

“I cannot stop a lone terrorist who runs out in the morning, grabs the car keys and goes running people down,” Amidror said.

Maj.-Gen (res) Ya'akov Amidror. Photo: Wikipedia.

Now a lecturer at the Begin-Sadat Center at Bar-Ilan University, Amidror said that, under the present policies, and in accordance with the legal restrictions imposed on the Israeli security forces, the odds for eradicating similar car attacks were low.

“The guy has already made up his mind, and is working on his own – so what can we do? We can place concrete barriers at bus stops, but then the perpetrator will jump the curb and hit people that way.

“So long as he did not plan it with others, we can’t stop it,” he said.

“While it’s true that if there is a ‘different atmosphere’ then the lone terrorist may not be tempted to act, but the atmosphere among Jerusalem’s Arabs is not dependent on us,” he said.

However, he added, “By punishing the terrorists’ families, some will be deterred. The terrorist who knows with certainty that his family will suffer will think twice before committing the deed.”

But, Amidror concluded, taking such steps would require legislative changes that Israel is either unable or unwilling to consider.

Watch a clip of the latest riots by the capital’s Arab youth against security forces: